title: Transposable element loads in a bacterial symbiont of weevils are extremely variable.
abstract: Not only are transposable elements profuse in the bacterial endosymbiont of maize weevils, but we found that their quantities also vary approximately 10-fold among individual weevils. Because multicopy elements can facilitate homologous recombination, this insertion sequence (IS) load variability suggests that these essentially asexual bacteria may exhibit substantial intraspecific genomic variation.
authors.affiliation: Louis Calder Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, P.O. Box 887, Armonk, NY 10504, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.forename: Gordon R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Plague
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D014644:Genetic Variation; D013559:Symbiosis; D048889:Weevils / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements